I Never Thought I Would Get This Moment With You
by Originalhybridlover
Summary: One-Shot. Mia spends her first Christmas with her father and mother but she can't help but wish for her mother to be there.


**A/N: Okay, so I am ignoring the fact that Crisis takes place before Christmas.**

**This fic was inspired by another fic 'So This is Christmas' written by, Jesileigh. If you had not read it, I highly recommend that you do!**

* * *

Mia woke up to the smell of fresh bacon, her stomach growled eagerly.

She tossed the covers off and made her way out into the open layout of her parent's old home in Star City.

She saw her dad at the stove, making what looked to be a feast.

"Are you planning to feed a small army?" Mia took a seat on the counter where dishes were already waiting.

Toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrowns.

"I thought we could celebrate Christmas," Oliver shot her a smile over his shoulder. "I know you probably celebrated Hannakah instead, but I just thought this was a nice way to spend the holiday as a family. If your mother was here, we could do a Chrismukkah."

Mia wished she could see her mom, she hated that everyone believes it was better to stay away. Time-traveling and all that, but she didn't care. This would be her first Christmas without her mom, and she didn't think that was something to celebrate.

Oliver turned off the stove at her silence and approached her. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not feeling very festive if you want to celebrate go on right ahead, but I would rather be left out." Mia snatched a piece of bacon and popped it into her mouth.

"You and your mom didn't celebrate?" Oliver questioned uncertainly.

"It's not that." Mia shook her head.

"I found the Christmas tree and the box of decelerations." William emerged from the back room, carrying a large box, looking like he was on the verge of dropping it.

"Just set it down." Oliver directed, his focus not leaving his little girl. "Then what is it?"

"Just drop it." Mia snatched up a piece of french toast and walked off.

Oliver frowned, looking after her.

"Digg and Connor will be here in twenty," William said, taking a seat.

Oliver nodded distractedly.

* * *

Mia stared at the photo she had swiped from her father's box of things, staring at the picture of her parents. They looked so happy.

Mia's heart ached, knowing her mother would love to be here celebrating the holidays with them as a family.

"Why are you hiding out in here?"

Mia looked up to see Connor leaning in the open doorway.

"Just not really into the holiday."

"You don't like Christmas? How can you not like Christmas?" Connor stepped further into the room.

"I never said anything like that."

"Well, you're hiding out in her instead of helping your family decorate your home."

"This isn't my home." Mia placed the pictured on the bedside table. "My home is alone raising me in the middle of nowhere in a cabin."

"Felicity." Connor realized, watching as the emotion flickered in her eyes before she quickly covered it. "This is about your mom."

"She always said, home wasn't a place or a single destination. It was family. It was the people in your life. The feeling of love surrounding you. That's home."

"Mom always was smart."

Felicity's eyes shot to the door again to see William just on the threshold. "It's rude to eavesdrop."

"I wasn't trying to." William defended. "Dad has the table set for everyone, C'mon. I understand missing mom, but are you going to waste the chance to spend your first Christmas with dad?"

Mia looked back at the picture, knowing her mother wouldn't want her to miss the chance to spend the holiday with her father because she was brooding about her not being there.

Silently she got up and left the room.

* * *

It was strange for Mia, being around others for the holiday when it had only been her mom and her for the last 20 years.

After breakfast, Connor and Digg left, and she and William helped their father decorate their home, and make latkes for lunch.

They settled on the couch and watched Christmas movies. Mia wasn't surprised when the first movie her father put on was Die Hard. Her mother always told her that it was his favorite Christmas movie even though it wasn't technically a Christmas movie.

"Do you want to help me with dinner? I'm fixing chicken parmigiana." Oliver asked Mia and William when the credits rolled.

"I'm no help in the kitchen." William shook his head.

"I'm even worse. My cooking is no better than mom's."

Mia watched as her father's face scrunched up before replying. "All the more reason to teach you. C'mon, help me in the kitchen."

"Don't burn down the house." William snickered at Mia. "If you're as bad as mom is at cooking, it's a strong possibility."

Mia shot him a glare as she followed her father to the kitchen, resisting the urge to flip her brother off.

William snickered behind their backs.

Cooking with her father was so different from cooking with her mother. She didn't have to worry about the smoke detector going off. It was nice to see her father in his element.

Was this the kind of husband he was before he left them?

The husband who cooked while his wife drank wine and work on her laptop? The kind that would have her mom taste whatever new recipe he was trying?

She could almost picture what it would have been like to grow up with her parents and William.

It was a life Mia was reluctant to admit she wished she could have had cause there was no hope she was ever going to have something like that.

Mia pushed thoughts of her mother to the back of her mind, just thinking about her made the ache in her chest grow.

She followed her father's instruction to the best of her ability. When they were done, she was just glad he was there. Otherwise, she was sure she would have probably burnt the apartment down.

* * *

Oliver smiled as he watched his children decorate the tree together. His heart ached, wishing Felicity was there with them.

He wanted to call her, needed to hear her voice, he was tempted, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

If he heard her voice, he wasn't sure he could stop himself from going home.

"For someone who doesn't like Christmas, you're not too bad with decorating the tree," Willam commented.

Mia snorted. "It's not possible to be bad at decorating a tree. All you have to do is hang ornaments. There's nothing special about that."

"Wow, you must have been a real joy to be around at Christmas time," William snickered.

Mia glared at him. "It was a very happy time, we sang Christmas carols and set out cookies and milk for Santa."

William made a face at her sarcasm.

"Speaking of cookies," Oliver injected. "Would you like to help me make some?"

Mia looked at him incredulously. "You do love tempting fate with a Smoak girl in the kitchen, don't you?"

Oliver laughed. "You can just do what your mother always did."

"Sit on the counter and watch you cook?"

Oliver looked at her, the corner of his mouth lifting. "She told you about that?"

"Yes. It was better for mom to watch than to cook." Mia's lips pulled up into a small smile, thinking of her mother. "peaking as someone who actually seen her work in the kitchen that was the best option for mom. She couldn't microwave without burning something."

Oliver laughed. "Sounds like your mother."

Oliver moved to the kitchen, and Mia followed him, leaving William to continue decorating the tree.

Oliver got out the ingredients and motion Mia to come next to him and started showing her how to mix the batter together and stir it.

"Here, why don't you stir the batter on your own." Oliver slid the bowl over to her.

Mia took it, and the first thing she did after stirring the batter was to scoop out a piece, sneaking a taste.

Oliver shook his head.

"What?" Mia asked.

"Your mom did the same thing."

Mia smiled faintly as Oliver scooped out the proper amount of cookie batter onto the cookie sheet and then put it in the oven.

"When we're done with the chocolate chip cookies, we can do gingerbread cookies, and you can help me apply the icing. Your mom loved decorating cookies with icing. It reminded her of when she and William baked for one of his science classes."

Mia face shuttered, the ache in her chest for her mom becoming too much. "I need some air."

Mia went out to the balcony. The night air was cold, but she didn't really care as she looked out at the city lights.

"Mia, is everything okay?" Oliver approached her cautiously.

"Every year for as far as back as I can remember mom and I celebrated Christmas, I didn't understand it at first. We had Hanukkah. When I was little, I didn't mind it, but as I got older, I started to feel angry. Mom went all out for Christmas. I thought it was because she loved the holiday, but it was for you."

"For me?" Oliver's heart thudded in his chest.

"She always told me how much you loved Christmas. How you loved throwing Christmas parties. Watching Christmas movies, making Christmas treats, and decorating the tree." Mia's smile was anything but happy.

"And that made you angry?"

"I was angry that mom held onto you so tightly. There was always this air of sadness that surrounded her. Still, I don't know there was just something about the way she clung to everything that you love about Christmas that amplified it. Don't get me wrong I know she was happy with me, but there was something still missing, and that was you. And William." Mia looked away from him, trying to hide the way tears gathered in her eyes. "She wanted to celebrate Christmas and do all the things you would have done with us if you had the chance to be there. I never thought I get this moment with you. It's nice to finally experience Christmas with you, but I wish mom was here. I wish the four of us could spend the holiday together as a family."

"You have no idea how much I want that too. Why don't this year we do something that your mom would've loved to do."

"I'd like that," Mia said softly.

"C'mon, back inside. It's cold out here, and I don't want you to catch a cold." Oliver murmured, placing his hand on her back and ushering her inside.

"Do we have any mint chip?" Mia wondered. "I'm feeling like some mint chip."

"Yes, and how about some red wine?" Oliver asked. "For your mom?"

Mia smiled slowly.

Oliver smiled back at her. It was heartbreaking to know how much Felicity missed him, how much his absence affected his family. And how much Felicity tried to keep a connection between him and Mia. It just made Oliver love her that much more, the ache in chest intensifying.

Being with Mia and William for the holidays helped, but he wished his wife could be there. He wished they could have just one more moment together.

One last chance to thank her for the love and life she gave him.

Thank him for the happiness she brought to his life.

Thank her for being his home.

* * *

**A/N: Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukah or Happy Holidays! Whichever you prefer! Thanks for reading. Reviews are loved. **


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